Romeo Runaway
by sallythedestroyerofworlds23
Summary: The Karakura High students are organizing the classic play of Romeo and Juliet, with Rukia's debut as a Director, Ichigo as Romeo, and Inoue as Juliet- What! What real drama will this play cause between a certain pair of Shinigami?


"Oh. God."

That was all his current brain power permitted him to say as he stared at the abomination before his eyes.

"Oh come on, it's not _that_ bad."

"No, it's worse!" He shouted, finally turning away from his reflection in the mirror to look at the raven-haired girl standing behind him.

Clad in an ancient-looking dress that had probably been used in the Drama department for longer than that type of dress had been in style, Rukia faced him, her eyes scrutinizing his own outfit, her hands on her hips as she looked him up and down. "Don't be such a baby, Ichigo. Everyone's been a good sport about the costumes. Look! Even I'm wearing one and you don't see _me _complaining."

_Yeah well, _Ichigo thought, _you wouldn't, seeing as how __you're __the one forcing us to wear these stupid things!_

He refrained from saying this out loud, though. These past couple of weeks he'd received enough beatings to learn to keep his mouth shut about anything concerning Rukia's play.

Oh that's right. A couple of weeks ago, their teacher at Karakura High, Ms. Ochi, had gone on some vacation trip to a mountain and had apparently received 'spiritual healing' or something, and had come back _rejuvenated._ According to her, at least. Anyway, the point was that when she came back, she decided the students at Karakura High weren't getting enough time to express themselves and be creative and blah blah blah. So, what does she decide to do? Well, apparently the solution to this 'creative depravation', as she herself had put it, was to have the students organize a play.

The news had of course created a wide range of reactions, from excited to nervous to indifferent to mortified (yes, this included Ichigo.) As soon as the play was announced, students started signing up for all the different duties. Ichigo had stood there for a good five minutes before deciding what to sign up for. Rukia, completely excited about the prospect of a play, had watched him anxiously waiting for him to decide on something. When she had had enough, she took matters into her own hands and before he could do anything about it, Rukia had signed him up as an actor. That wasn't the worst part, though. Upon a closer look, Ichigo saw that Rukia had signed herself up to be none other than the… _director_.

Ichigo didn't know how Rukia would work as a director, but he was sure that it couldn't bring anything good.

He was right. After a week of castings and rehearsals and whatnot, Rukia had made pretty clear that _she _was in command and that what she said _goes._ No one on set dared question anything she said anymore.

And so, after the two weeks of torture -er, preparations- they were now getting ready for the big night of the play. The play was none other than _Romeo and Juliet_. Ichigo had been sort of glad when he'd found out, after all, they would be performing Shakespeare, it couldn't be _that_ bad. So, he had managed to put up with Rukia's directing as much as anyone else. That is until tonight. When he, who had been cast as Romeo (yeah, he was as surprised as everyone else), was being forced to wear such a ridiculous outfit!

For one thing, he was wearing… Oh Lord… _stockings!_

Ichigo Kurosaki did not wear stockings!

Plus there was the stupid hat…

"I am _not _going out looking like this." he stated stubbornly.

"Everyone is going out looking the same as you and no one else is complaining." Rukia said.

"No they're not! I swear they made this outfit… more…Agh! I know you've noticed! My outfit is…_tighter_… in places were it _shouldn't _be this tight…" It really was. Ichigo realized too late who the head of Costume Design was…

He'd have to kill Ishida later.

"Well _I_ don't see anything wrong with it," Rukia said, obviously lying through her teeth. "And the show's about to start so I'd get my act together if I were you. Your sisters are here with your dad, and you know _he_'ll never let you forget if you mess up tonight."

"WHAT? Who invited _him_?!" Ichigo yelled in outrage.

Rukia's only response was to turn around and start shouting. "PLACES EVERYONE! THE SHOW'S ABOUT TO START!"

There was scurrying around of dozens of students, actors going over their lines nervously, people carrying around heavy equipment and props, etcetera.

Rukia was holding a program in her hand, giving it one last overview. "Dammit!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Where's Juliet?!" Before she could have a panic attack, a cheerful voice chirped behind her. "Right here!" Inoue said. She was wearing a long dress, more elaborate than any other -obviously had Ishida to thank for that too- and her long orange hair was braided down her back, with pretty flowers decorating the braid.

Rukia sighed in relief at the sight of the girl and directed her to her place onstage.

Then she turned to face Ichigo as he reluctantly started walking towards the unlit stage, ready to take his place. Rukia smiled briefly and said, "Break a leg, Romeo." Then gave him one good shove and had him stagger onto his place.

Five incredibly long seconds later, the curtains rose and the lights shone on his face. The play was starting.

***

Rukia watched from the far end of the stage as the first act of the play ran pretty smoothly. She spent the whole time mouthing all the character's lines, which she'd learned because _that_'s how good a director she was. Everything went perfect, except for one minor incident with Keigo, which is better off not being mentioned…

Act two was what she was most nervous about, since she was going to be playing a small part, whose original actor was at home, suffering with a flu. There weren't enough students to have cast understudies, so Rukia, being the only one who'd learned everyone's lines, was now playing the part. It went great, even though she hadn't had time to practice, and she was able to show off her tremendous acting skills which had gotten her so far in this world.

All in all, it was turning out to be a success, and Rukia should have been ecstatic, but…

The truth was she was feeling almost… sad. It was weird. Whenever she saw her Romeo, Ichigo speaking his lines perfectly and delivering them with such emotion, her chest swelled with many emotions. Despite what many people thought, she didn't choose Ichigo for Romeo because she had an unfair preference, the truth was, whether he'd ever admit it or not, or even realize it, as a matter of fact, Ichigo was actually a pretty good actor. Maybe it was due to his love for Shakespeare, but he delivered a very real Romeo. The first time Rukia heard him speak those timeless words of love, she felt her stomach flutter with butterflies. She attributed this reaction to him being an outstanding actor. So the decision to make him Romeo was easy.

As for Juliet, she hadn't given it much thought. Inoue had auditioned and earned the part fair and square. Plus, she was Rukia's friend and she was happy to give her the starting role.

It wasn't until now that Rukia began to regret her choices.

Inoue was a wonderful Juliet. She was both beautiful and sensitive, giving the character a perfect embodiment. The way she looked at Romeo… It made you truly believe she was in love.

Again, Rukia should have been happy of how perfect things turned out.

She wasn't. Just the opposite, in fact. Every time she saw Ichigo voicing his undying love, confessing his deep feelings and vowing to stay beside Juliet-Inoue forever, Rukia felt like she was being stabbed through the chest with a zanpakuto.

And then when she looked at Inoue, gazing back at Romeo-Ichigo with this sparkle in her eyes, like she'd been waiting for him to tell her he loved her all his life, and her wish had finally come true. She looked happy. Their eyes would lock with each other eternally, it seemed to Rukia they would never let go. It was all too real… It made her want to vomit.

When Act two was over everyone was buzzing with energy, congratulating each other for doing such a good job. She even received a few pats on the back herself. But she wasn't paying any attention to it. She was focusing all her energy now on keeping her cool. She found it was nearly impossible to keep herself from trembling in anger. Finally, when she felt she couldn't breathe, she practically ran outside to the fresh night air just outside of the school, unaware that she'd been seen and followed by someone.

"Oi, Rukia, what are you doing?" Ichigo called after her. She didn't turn around. "Act three is about to start, it's a mess in there. They need their almighty fearless director." He grinned, teasing, but when she didn't react, the smile fell from his face. "Hey, everything okay?" Concern edged his words now.

"Fine." she managed to say between gritted teeth. Her arms were crossed as she kept her back to him.

Ichigo frowned. "You don't sound fine." He started walking towards her. "If you're mad about what happened with Keigo-"

"I'm not mad about what happened with Keigo!" Rukia snapped, turnining around to face Ichigo just in time to slap away the hand that was starting to reach out to her.

Ichigo looked at her with a startled expression. She stared back with anger shining in her eyes for a long moment before saying, "Just leave me alone." She bumped roughly against his side as she angrily walked back towards the school. She was stopped, however, by Ichigo's restraining hand on her arm, turning her around forcefully.

"Hey, Rukia, what the hell?! What happened? The play is going great, I thought you'd be excited!"

"Yeah, exactly. The play is going wonderful." She locked eyes with him.

Looking into his eyes, she couldn't help but remember how he'd looked with such sincere emotion at 'Juliet'. Rukia remembered the kissing scene was coming soon. They'd never practiced it during rehearsals, Ms. Ochi's request, and the way things were going, everything was lined up for a perfect kiss. Her eyes began to sting against her will.

"Rukia…" Ichigo tried in vain to read her emotions. He just couldn't figure out what was troubling her.

The silence was broken by the horrible screeching of a hollow nearby. Ichigo instantly tensed and prepared to run off when Rukia put a hand on his arm and shook her head. "The show must go on." she said. Judging by Ichigo's tensed fist, he wasn't too interested in letting the hollow go.

"It's just a small fry. I'll be back before curtain call."

Jaw tensed, Ichigo nodded stiffly. "Be careful." His eyes lingered on hers longer than necessary, until he reluctantly went back to finish the play.

Rukia let out one long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, stared after Ichigo's retreating figure until he disappeared into the school, then finally sprinted off in the direction of the hollow.

It was easy enough to find, and was perhaps a little bigger than your usual hollow, but nothing extraordinary. Rukia could take it on easy.

***

It was not as easy to finish the play as it was to start it off.

For starters, everyone present who had some amount of spiritual pressure had sensed the appearance of the hollow, and, although they'd been assured it was being taken care of, it was not enough to erase the tension that now filled the place. Secondly, the one supposed to be holding things together, the director, seemed only to be making things worse by tackling random passers and yelling "Pyon!". Little did people know, their director was now Chappy the Rabbit.

And lastly, the play's leading man, Romeo seemed to have gotten stage fright at the very _very_ last minute. At least it seemed that way, because he now looked like he was having trouble remembering even the simplest lines, and he kept glancing nervously towards the audience and the sides of the stage, as if waiting for something to happen.

Things were definitely _not_ going well.

Ichigo, in all fairness, was really doing his best by going on with the show and not running out to help Rukia. Yes, he knew she could handle the hollow, he knew she was a fighter, just like him. But still, it made him nervous to let her go by herself. He worried. He was human, wasn't he? His hands were twitching the whole time, to make a grab for his soul reaper badge and run to finish off the impertinent hollow.

He didn't, though. Rukia had asked him to continue her play, and he knew he'd get hell from her if he deserted now. On top of that, he had to think of Inoue and the other cast members, who'd all worked so hard for this night, and it would all be ruined if Romeo left.

So, he did his best to keep his mind on the reasons he should stay.

That's probably why he didn't even notice when it was time for the awaited kissing scene.

Though he wouldn't admit it, Ichigo had been greatly relieved that they hadn't been forced to practice the particular scene any time before the actual show, and had been silently dreading the moment. The whole kiss deal was actually the reason why he'd been so against playing the part of Romeo when he'd been chosen. He had begged to let someone else take the part, Keigo, for instance, was dying for the role. But Rukia wouldn't have it. She was set on having Ichigo be Romeo. He had tried to drop hints on _why_ he didn't want the part, but Rukia was either _that_ oblivious or purposely ignoring him.

When Inoue was cast as Juliet, he was partly relieved that at least it was his friend and not some random girl. But now, he wasn't so sure. The fact that she was his friend would probably just make it even more awkward for the two of them afterwards. Ichigo was very confused, but when suddenly faced with the girl, her lips inches from his, the audience and the cast alike expectantly waiting for the moment… He was suddenly sure he did not want this to happen. Sure he liked Inoue, but he certainly didn't like her like _that_. Kissing her would have just felt… wrong. Even if it was just acting. Something inside of him was just holding him back tremendously.

The moment seemed to last forever. Inoue inched closer to him. He saw her eyes begin to droop. His breath hitched in his throat. He had to do this…

He inched forward.

No one seemed to notice the petite girl clad in Shinigami robes who'd just snuck back inside, whose breath caught as she saw what was about to happen.

Ichigo closed his eyes in preparation. It was less than a moment away. And yet, the moment he shut his eyes, an image popped up in his mind, like he'd flipped a switch the moment his eyelids closed. An image so bright and clear it seemed real.

In his mind he saw dark raven hair and shining violet eyes. Her small silhouette was lined by the sun's bright rays as she gave him a warm smile that took all the rain clouds away. "Ichigo,"

His eyes snapped open and he practically jumped backwards. For a split second he saw Inoue's face as it went from startled to sadness, to… _Was that understanding?_

He didn't have time to figure it out because over the audiences multiple gasps and muttering he heard one clear voice:

"_Ichigo!"_

He spun and saw her. Rukia stood a few feet away from him, she was in Shinigami form so only he could see her. Her face looked angry, but in her voice and in her eyes he thought he saw… No, he was sure it was there.

_Relief._

He didn't know how long he stood there, eyes locked with Rukia. To everyone else it looked like he was staring into space, of course, but he wasn't listening to anyone's cries telling him to snap out of it and get back to the play. He barely noticed when the curtain fell separating him from the audience, and he didn't pay attention to Ms. Ochi's nervous excuse that 'We seem to be having some technical difficulties'.

In that moment, Rukia turned around and began to leave. Ichigo followed her until they were outside just like before.

"You ruined my play." was the first thing Rukia said when they were both out alone. Her tone was harsh, but as soon as she turned to face him, he saw that there was no real anger on her face. She seemed to be trying to make it seem that way, though. So he played along.

"It's your fault, you distracted me. What were you thinking just walking on the stage like that?!"

"_My _fault?! It's your own stupid fault! And besides, I wasn't _on_ the stage!"

"Could've fooled me."

"_Idiot!"_

They glared at each other for a long moment, before relaxing.

"You're hurt." Ichigo said, referring to the fresh gash cutting across Rukia's cheek.

She took a hand to it and looked at her now-bloody fingers, confirming what he'd said. "It's nothing."

"I thought you said you could handle it." Ichigo scowled at her.

"It's just a scratch, I was distracted."

"Hmph. Wouldn't had happened if I'd gone instead."

"You were _supposed _to finish the play. You couldn't even do that."

"Well, I couldn't! Go figure." he yelled now.

"What do you mean you couldn't?" Rukia replied just as loudly.

"I just couldn't! I couldn't go through with it!" It was pretty clear to both of them what 'it' meant.

"_Why not?!"_

"Because!" His eyes stared fiercely into hers, trying to convey with them what he didn't say.

"…Because?" Rukia asked, the edge now disappeared from her voice. Some disguised emotion lurking near the surface.

Ichigo looked away, unable to meet her eyes. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I just…" he remembered how wrong it had felt to edge closer and closer to Inoue. How he hadn't wanted to, even if he was the envy of every other guy at Karakura High because he would get to kiss Inoue. He remembered how, throughout the play, he'd pretended he was reciting his love to no one in particular, and he was just reading Shakespeare in the solitude of his room. But most of all, he remembered how, just as he was about to go in for the kiss, _her_ face popped into his mind. Her eyes, her smile…

"I don't _know_ why, okay?" He finally said. It was a few seconds before he dared to look at her from the corner of his eye. When he did, his eyes widened in surprise, for he found Rukia was smiling. Not at him, she was looking away. Smiling to herself. For what reason, Ichigo didn't know, but he was glad she didn't seem to be about to question him any further.

"What the hell are you smiling to yourself for? You look like an idiot." he scolded.

She dropped the smile but her eyes still shone with it when she looked up at him. "You're the one who looks like an idiot talking to the air." Then her face split into a huge smirk. "Better get back inside. I bet their missing their Romeo back there."

Ichigo shrugged. "Keigo will probably be happy to take the part and finish the play. He can have the glory. You should go take care of things, though. Chappy has probably tackled half the cast by now."

It was Rukia's turn to shrug. "I think I've had enough directing. Let's just go home."

Ichigo didn't answer, but started walking in the usual way to his house, Rukia followed quickly.

He never told her the real reason he couldn't go through with the kissing scene. _That _was a secret he'd keep to himself. Looking down at Rukia now, the reason why he couldn't kiss Inoue was clear and easy.

_Because it wasn't __you__._

***

A/N:

Well, this, I'm sorry to say, will be my last story, as I've been told by a reliable source will be closing down permanently soon. So…

APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that was my sorry attempt at an April Fools joke, hope you appreciate it xD

Phew! It's been a while since I wrote anything, with school and my life going haywire(not in a bad way, no worries!) it's been hard, but I had to get back to this! Hope you enjoyed my comeback! =)

Just to be clear, I've never been on an actual school play (my school doesn't have them, sadly) and I've never seen Romeo and Juliet so I was winging most of this, so please don't be too harsh, hehe XD Anyways, thanks for reading, reviews are always nice ;)


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